3.5
Quality2.6
Difficulty35%
Would Retake109
Reviews35%
Would Retake
109
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
48
4
15
3
9
2
20
1
17
What Students Say
“Really not a bad professor, but the other comments don't lie when they say he doesn't really do a whole lot in lecture besides go over book examples”
PHY103LEC - 4.0 rating“I am taking him for Phy 104 lecture next semester”
PHY103L - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
20%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.06 avg changeRatings by Course
PHYSICS
5.0
(2)104LAB104
5.0
(1)PH125
5.0
(1)PHYS001
5.0
(1)PHL56
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PHY14
5.0
PHYSICS
4.0
PHY103AND104
4.0
104LAB104
4.0
PHY103LEC
4.0
Reviews (109)
No Comments
He doesn't grade too hard, but he his more worried about proving to you that he is a great teacher because of what he has done in the past instead of just teaching you. And his answers are always ambiguous.
No Comments
Had for 203 and 204 lab, very easy, almost never took more than half the allotted; tests were pretty easy; pretty boring and hard to understand sometimes
No Comments
Very easy. If you cant get an A in his class, consider W.W.T.C.
Very easy. If you can take this class in place of the 103/104 series, do so. My roommate read novels throughout class so it is kinda boring. But you WILL get an A if you attend class regularly. Sometimes hard to understand because of his accent
easy, but his lab tests kinda suck.
Vague answers, teaching style is unhelpful to most. His tests cover material that he glossed over in class. It is the general consensus that one does not learn in his classes.
Excellent professor. Very Helpfull and kind. I recommend him to anyone who likes physics.
Generally can't understand him. He just goes over homework problems in class which is makes it unnecessary to go. Yet, test go into greater depth than many of the homework assignments.
All coments are pretty acurate. Boring class, nobody pays attention, frustrating if you actually do, because of the noise. Test are predictable. Hard to understand, can get cranky if you ask questions. Don't feel like I learned much.
easy easy easy. class can be boring, but he is very clear on his test expectations. very generous partial credit.
Love this guy! A little on the easy side and wish I could have learned a little more. But he's awesome. Very willing to explain anything that doesn't click. Easy A!!
Pompous ass that likes to embaress students who ask questions. Hard to understand. Says the same things 400 times in a row. Class is boring cuz he just goes over homework problems. Class is ridiculously loud and frustrating to sit through.
kind of an ass... changes the material right at the end of the semester so no one can do well on final exams for lab or lecture. unfair!
what a guy, i love going to dinner with him his son and wife, we went to this great place in lacrosse good guy
Wonderful professor. Makes terrible jokes, but is hilarious. Explains things very clearly. Willing to answer questions if you are willing to ask them. Attend class and you will be golden.
Kind of a ****.
His idea of teaching is going over examples in the book and he gets pissed if people don't show up to his lame ass lectures.
He's one of the sweetest professors I've ever had. Is so willing to answer your questions and wants everyone to do well. Sure, class is a little dry at times, but everything you need to know is taught in lecture and at classes. Take him for lab too, he's the easiest lab instructor.
very random lectures, tests are hard unless you REALLY know your stuff, and you can't understand him half the time. pretty quirky guy though.
Very nice guy. I enjoyed being in his class. Very challenging, requires a lot of work!
Beautiful to look at!!!
so bad that i am planning on taking 104 at a different school. waste of time and a big joke.
Definitely do not take as a Gen. Ed. It is a very difficult class. It took me half of the semester to understand him! Final exam is NOTHING like what is learned in class. Not a good prof.
I hate this class and changed my major because of him!!!!!!!
After going off the deep end due to bad student evals, I would say this is one of the worst professors I've had. Takes up 75% of class talking about how we are all LIARS and his heart hurts. Also hard to understand...class is survivable, especially if you can teach yourself the material. Good luck
I would rather puke out of my eyeballs than take another class with this man! Final was NOTHING like class- if I would have ever considered a major in physics, I definately would have changed! NOT professional at all and makes everything way too personal! Warning: avoid at all costs!
I know many people didnt like him, but I didnt have a problem with him. I thought he went over things very thoroughly and taught us a lot.
Awesome and really easy. Take 125 if you don't have to take 103/104. Has reviews before each exam, very helpful
Tak is a good man and a good professor. Hes smart, thoughtful, and fun. The one drawback is probably his accent. Several comments about him were negative. Doing poorly in a class does not give you the right to make up reactionary **** about a good prof. Physics can be boring, its not my favorite subject, but this class is a lot better than most
I love Dr. Pillai. He's hilarious, he's always smiling and in a good mood....he does lots of example problems in lecture, which I find to be helpful. I can see how the class would be tough if you didn't already have a pretty good understanding of physics from HS, though.
Not very good at explaining concepts. Excpects people to know things that are only obvious to him. Always has mathematical relationship questions on exams/quizzes; apparently, he doesn't realize this is a physics course. Too many quizzes. Can be rude. Overall, I think he's terrible prof, and hope I never have to take another class with him.
Dr. Pillai is extremely bitter due to bad student reviews. His accent isn't difficult to understand but his method of teaching is. He asks questions about concepts that he doesn't talk about in lecture. He's completely unhelpful if you ask questions outside of class. Oh yeah, and he tapes the class and himself during quizzes and exams. ****
I don’t know why others are negative about Dr. Pillai. I am a student in his class for two semesters now,(103, currently 104), and I think that Dr. Pillai is doing an excellent job. His typical lecture consists of explaining the concepts, (including comments on common mis-concepts that students have about Physics concepts), common mistakes students
Dr. Pillai is cool. He shows a lot of demonstrations, and discuss practical applications to supplement his lectures. The high voltage generator, and the sparks in air was cool!
I just love Dr. Pillai. He prepares us well for his exams, he gives practice exams and solutions. The only people that are complaining are the ones that don’t want to put in any time to study the material that he is going over. I also like his D2L course site; I did well in his exams, and quizzes by going to class and listening to what he presents
Dr. Pillai helps me learn physics. He explains a lot of concepts and numerical problems in class. Sometimes his explanations are a bit too much, but may be it is ok since the class consists of many different majors. In lab he makes connections to lecture material, and he tells us what he will ask in the exam from each lab. Yes, there is a practice
Overexplains things you don't need to know (for example on a daily basis that algebra is a prerequisite for the class) Comes off rude at times but I don't think he means it. Not the worst prefessor ever but I wouldn't take him again.
Practice Exams are great. I also like that he gives feedback on common mistakes students make in physics; I listed these from his lectures; and have been helpful to avoid pitfalls.
No Comments
not good, thank god he's not teaching it next year!!!
I was excited for this class, then it started and I realized how much it sucked! Pillai is not a good teacher. He repeats simple concepts over and over, like how to calculate your grade. Although his practice tests are helpful, the real tests may not be at all like the practice ones... avoid if possible!
Helps a lot; goes out of his way to explain concepts; practice exam solutions are helpful
I was preparing for MCAT and I found this course to be very useful. Dr. Pillai’s exams are standard quality exams and they helped me a lot.
i dont know what I will do without the practice exams; for that alone (and other things) he deserves credit
Not the most helpful teacher. Get's to the point and the class is way to hard for a gen ed.
I took his summer physics courses and gotten A in both courses. Also his course (and exams) is helping my MCAT
Great Teacher. If lecture was taught this way I wont have any problem.
Hard to understand unless u absolutely zoned into him. kind of fun and entertaining. he is smart and knows his stuff but for that reason seems to think he is smarter than everybody else. if you ask a question that he touched on in class, even if its just to clarify he will yell at you and say you dont pay attention, but still go over it unhappily
Great teacher, great passion for his subject. Tries to make connections to other topics in physics and engineering, discusses practical applications. I am a physics major in his electrodynamics course, and I learned a lot of applications of the math that I learned in other courses. He does problems on the board step by step explaining every little
Great teacher, explains concepts and lab procedures and comments on common mistakes. Practice exam useful. Will recommend to anybody
Great teacher. I learned the applications of the math I learned elsewhere. I am going to grad school, and this course puts me ahead of the rest. Not to mention all the Mathematica programming we learned. Will recommend to others who really want to master the subject.
Pillai is a GREAT teacher! I would recommend taking him to anyone! He is VERY helpful, I would consider going in once a week-ish to ask questions, but it is worth it and doesn't take long at all! Everyone in the class that I knew basically got A's on all his tests! He also makes the class fun!
Oh what a class. Super easy, extremely slow pace of learning material with about five problems assigned to each chapter. Practice exams help but make sure to do the problems as well. Nice professor but lectures were kind of boring except when he did cool demonstrations during class.
Practice exams are a life saver! He also does plenty of problems with solutions. Take over summer if you can. Info comes fast but then he cuts out all the extra info you don't need to know and does lots of math problems. So if you are better at guessing take it during the year.
Dr. Pillia is AWESOME!! He has a great sense of where students make mistakes and takes plenty of time to address each one of them each chapter... I really enjoyed having him as a teacher.
Had him for a few classes and he has always been fair and a great teacher. You will always know where to be careful because he points out where students lose points.
He is funny and never get bored in the lab. He is helpful to students. The exams were easy. It wasn't that hard to get a B and above. Just make sure you look over his review of the exam and understand them. Go to his office hours , he will teach you and notice other places that will make you lose points. he will noticeMessy office though.
TAKE HIM FOR LAB--YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE IF YOU DON'T!! HELPFUL & EASY!
I took the summer course because I hated physics, but he was amazing. He taught the lecture using problems from the book and handed out practice tests that were almost identical to the real ones. He also taught the lab which helped a lot. He makes jokes and tells stories to keep the class going. Great class. Great professor.
The content is pretty easy for this course, but he makes it much easier by handing out notes and doing a lot of examples. The exams were only three questions, and he told us what type of questions were asked.
As easy as physics can get. He will NOT give you an understanding of theory. Tests are almost mirrors of the practice exams he gives out. Lecture is dull; he mostly just goes through problem which he posts, worked out, on D2L anyway. Can be funny at times, but unclear if you need extra help. If you're an independent learner, he's an easy A.
Terrible at explaining concepts. And can be difficult to understand. He pretty much just goes through the examples that he posts online, so lectures are pointless.. but tests and quizzes are pretty self-explanatory. If you want an understanding of the concepts don't take him, if you want an easy A this is your guy.
Great teacher! His practice exam is a life saver. Physics is hard enough - he helps to break it down to a level we can follow. Works out problems on the board and gives us hints on common mistakes. Does some cool demos in class. Funny guy
Take him! you will have an easy time in physics! I was in another professor's class for 103 (suffering), and switched over since my friends told him that he teaches so well. His classes are always full and almost double the size of other sections. He makes physics fun! If you do all the assigned problems, pretty easy to get an a or AB
Yep, he makes it easy. I came in to ask a question on lab exam and he went out of his way to show us it in the lab. He makes the lectures intersting often tells us jokes. Lectures are right to the point and clear. I have him for both lab and lecture and this course has been a breeze for me.
When I started preaparing for my MCAT is when I realized how helpful Dr. Pillai's teaching is. The "common errors students make" that he comments on evryday really helps. He makes it so clear and if you follow it up with doing some problems from the text, it is an easy A
Our Final is next week, and when I sat down to break up my time to study, I am seeing that Dr. Pillai's is the only class I don't have a tonne of stuff to study. He tells us early enough waht the exact format and #of questions in each part, he gives us a practice exam! the real exams are VERY SIMILAR. I would recomment taking him for PHY 103
He gave us the TOPICS of the final exam and said the questions will be from these topics (no need to study entire chapters) - this itself is great when craming down for all the other finals where we dont get this kind of info. He has the practice exam with the same topics! Extremely hrelpful at office hours.I would recommend him for physics!
Really easy professor, don't really like his grading scale, but overall fair, sometimes too easy.
He's a great and helpful teacher. I learned so much. Make sure you ask him about his gorgeous sons.
Took his lab. He explains well, and he is very much willing to offer help and answer questions. Grading is based on two tests. The questions can be fairly difficult and require you to clearly remember the exact steps taken in class, not just to remember the concepts. However, he grades generously, so it balances out. I would recommend his lab.
Look forward to an entire semester of teaching yourself. He just spends the entire class going over one example, and if someone has a question he does a terrible job of explaining it. He doesn't tell you his grading methods, and he doesn't use D2L, so it's extremely hard to tell how well you are doing in the class.
I pretty much taught myself all the material. His accent is very harsh and I don't think he explains things well at all. He does not explain concepts rather just gives you the equation you'll need and how to plug and chug. As someone who actually needed to learn the material for further courses and admissions test, I was very frustrated.
Taught myself the material since in class all he did was face the board, mutter and write down the work. Class is basically him just going over the book problems and the answers. Helpful that the problems are worked out on D2L. Gives practice exams but they don't seem to be like the actual exam very much. Very defensive, does not like questions
Time in class could easily be done on your own outside of class. He often gives homework problems with solutions that he will then do in class. He will walk through the solutions he posts without extra explanation.
When I took the MCAT is when I realized all those little details of physics problem solving that he taught me really helped - including his comments (almost everyday) on common mistakes students make - I had scribbled down them, and it helped
Life saver in engineering statics - goes over variety of problems in class; often giving hints on variations of it, so that we can solve other problems as well. Tells you ahead of time (narrows down) what topics are on the exam. I have taken and enjoyed all his upper division classes.
Great Professor - will take him again
I had Dr. Pillai for lab; I wish he was my lecture instructor as well. Lab was a breeze; he tells you everything you need to know; including what you can expect for the exam . I am taking him for Phy 104 lecture next semester.
I am studying for his exam tomorrow - I find that it is quite easy; since he already pinpointed the 4 questions topics (not just chapters - the 4 topics for the 4 questions). This course is heavily problem solving; he does a lot of work on the board - but first he explains the strategy (he calls it the plan); often listing them on the board.
Great teacher! You will learn basic programming in MATLAB and Mathematica. NO EXAMS what so ever; just Home Works - easy to get a high Score
Great teacher. Goes from station to station to help the confusing electrical wiring (circuits) lab; especially measuring current - how to hook up the meter. Reviews basic concepts at the beginning - does not assume that we know it. I survive this lab because of him - I been in other labs.
Yes, I am glad I am in his lab. My friends in other labs are getting nervous abt lab ex; but Dr. Pillai gives us a practice exam, AND tells us what he is gonna ask in practical part of the exam - easy to prepare for his exam!
I am glad Dr. Pillai came back to teach us; very clear, lots of problem solutions at D2L, no overcrowding of materials. We had another teacher at the beginning and I was suffering (and some others in class as well). I aced the exam1 just last week; hope to continue to do that!
I can't speak for the way he treats students in his lower level classes, but in his upper level classes he is not helpful. The three times I have visited his office he has demeaned me, told me that I am a poor student, and told me that I should be more "inquisitive" and find the answers to my questions myself. It seems he does not like to teach.
Really clear in lectures. Brilliant and hilarious.
There is a language barrier which makes it very difficult to understand the lectures. Aside from that, he also doesn't lecture the material, he simply goes over the homework problems. Instead of wasting your time going to lecture I was better off just learning it from the textbook.
I am in his Phy 311 class and I am learning a lot; we are learning how to write code in Matlab and Mathematica. He leaves a few challenges for us to find out ourselves (opposite to being spoonfed), but none of them hard. Humorous guy, lots of jokes in class
His lectures are a good mix of explanation of concepts, common mistakes students do, and then doing numerical problems. He speaks fine English, speaks loudly, just a slight accent - I have no problem. His practice exams are a life saver - real exams are close to the same topics. Lots of laughs in class, he tells you lots of jokes! Take him.
Very happy guy, passionate about teaching his material.
Dr. Pillai seems to take questions as personal attacks. He can get defensive and interrupt questions. It makes talking to him outside class difficult. I have no problem with his accent but his lecture style is scattered. You really have to learn the material from the book or you'll be lost in lecture.
Dr. Pillai was okay. A bit difficult to understand, but okay. You basically teach yourself in this class. He goes over the light basics in class, and does some examples, but you NEED to do the provided practice examples on your own to pass. Just do the problems and scan the chapter and you'll do fine.
Dr. Pillai was very helpful in class. He gives good feedback and enjoys explaining the labs in detail. If you pay attention, you'll pass. He's like a different person in lab from lecture. Definitely would recommend for lab.
Lecture was almost non-existent for me, I would spend it studying for other classes because he would just go over book problems on the board which he had posted online. Just do the book problems and you should be fine for quizzes and exams. He wasn't very receptive to questions in class and from what I have heard he isn't in office hours either.
Does't really explain anything in lecture. Spends most of it working on book problems and doesn't do a good job of explaining those. You pretty much have to teach yourself.
Pillai doesn't really go in-depth when teaching, at all. He will give you equations and tell you how to solve problems, but doesn't go into theories. Goes through examples all of class, really pointless to go if you understand whats going on. Quizzes and test are fair and clear. Bumps grades when everyone does bad and gives extra credit opportunity
If you have little to no physics background do not take Dr. Pillai. He does not do a great job of explaining how to do problems, he just gives the equations and examples in class. Be prepared to teach yourself most of the concepts
If you think physics 103 will be a breeze, you are wrong, especially if you take him. I have never had such a poor professor, he does not teach you anything. When you show up to class you go over one practice problem and never actually learn anything. Seriously a rock sitting in front of the class would be better than him. Overall awful experience.
Pretty decent professor, he gives out a lot of extra credit opportunities throughout the semester and has bumped up grades on quizzes and tests when the class does bad. My only real complaints are that he is never available during his office hours and when I would ask him a question, he would interrupt me in the middle and not actually answer it
Really not a bad professor, but the other comments don't lie when they say he doesn't really do a whole lot in lecture besides go over book examples. I ended up not going to lecture (which doesn't give participation points) and still got out with an AB. Can be funny but also has moments where he can be a bit short on quiz/test days.
He mostly goes over practice problems during lecture and takes his time doing each one; sometimes we'll get through 2-3 problems before he dismisses us. His practice exams outline what is going to be on the actual exams, but his actual exam questions are much harder. He gives out extra credit if a lot of the class did poorly. I mostly taught myself
By far one of the WORST. During class, he just asks if you have any questions on the book problems. There are no notes or homework. I had to teach myself everything I now know straight from the textbook, which I could have done off of Amazon for much cheaper. He is extremely rude and arrogant and gets very defensive when you ask questions.
The most unhelpful teacher I have ever had. He does not teach at all, he expects you to teach yourself from the text book. If you try to ask him a question he never understands what your asking and gets mad when students, such as myself, who have never taken a physics course take more than 3 minutes on a quiz problem.
In my three years of being in college, this is by far one of the worst professors that I have had. In lecture there is pretty much zero teaching going on, it's just practice problem after practice problem. He pretty much expects you to know the concepts and figure it out yourself. Try to ask questions and his replies are very unhelpful.
He is by far the worst professor I have ever had. His lectures are terrible because he only does book examples that aren't even that helpful. I never showed up to class and ended up having the tutors teach me physics. If the class is doing poorly he will give out extra credit which is most of the time. Overall don't take he is terrible;e.
TAK can be a funny and nice guy at times, but he has the shortest temper of any professor I have ever had. Lab exams have a practical part where you need to do the experiment and they can be extremely difficult when you are timed. He did curve the final lab grade for my lab section, I ended up with an %85. Overall, would not take him again.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
20%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.06 avg changeRatings by Course
PHYSICS
5.0
(2)104LAB104
5.0
(1)PH125
5.0
(1)PHYS001
5.0
(1)PHL56
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PHY14
5.0
PHYSICS
4.0
PHY103AND104
4.0
104LAB104
4.0
PHY103LEC
4.0